Almost Home
by Belle-French
Summary: Emma Swan finds herself a thief in the streets of Portland, but meeting a man in the most unusual circumstances may change her life for the better. And as her never ending search for a home could come to an end, Neal Cassidy could be her happy ending after all.
1. One

The abandoned Portland amusement park matched the sky, dark, gloomy, and yet settling. The only light came from the lit up ride that inhabited two people, sat across from each other on the swings.

She stared into his eyes, which glistened in the moonlight, his dark hair carefully swept back. His smile beamed a thousand smiles, which projected onto her face and filled her with a new joy.

She'd only met him that day, a dark Portland alleyway wasn't exactly the nicest place to meet someone. But Emma was there anyways, she needed a lot of things, but her eyes caught a standout from the dull colours. A bright yellow car, she kinda liked it, she needed a car anyways. Her never ending search for a home would be nicer in a car than a dirty bus, where she'd been traveling most of her life.

She slipped the crowbar out from her sleeve, checking her surroundings to make sure not a single eye was watching her. She got the car door open with ease, for she was quite experienced with burglary, and more importantly, getting away with it.

She climbed in, and when she got the engine going a sense of accomplishment shone on her face. Driving away with ease she headed out of the alleyway and into the busy streets, but her heart stopped when a man appeared in the backseat.

And now here she was, sat in a fun fair, a cup of coffee in one of her hands. He told her about his troubled past as she drank the coffee, drinking its hot and rich contents eased the coldness that shivered against her skin.

He continued to speak to her as she carefully listened, it sounded like he had a pretty crap life too, a troubled past.

"That's how you know you really got a home." He spoke softly. "When you leave it, there's this feeling you can't shake. You just miss it."

His words filled her mind, relating to the struggles she'd experienced her whole life, and he smiled right at her, and she couldn't help but smile back, for maybe this Neal Cassidy guy wasn't as awful as she thought.

She couldn't stop staring at his smile, which was ever so beautiful, the structure of his teeth, the pearliness of the white colour. She shook her coffee, the contents empty.

"Thank you, you know, for the drink." Emma said.

"Look I know it's not exactly the dream date, but I've still had fun." Laughed Neal.

"Wait, you think this is...a date?" Emma snapped.

She could see the shocked look in his eyes, his vibrant irises shattering at the statement. She took a breath out, realizing she'd insulted him.

"Look, I'm sorry. That was rude." She said with guilt. "It's just I haven't exactly dated anyone before, the foster system wasn't really the place to find my Prince Charming."

"Didn't you ever get a family?"

"Yeah." Emma said softly. "But they didn't want me, nobody ever has."

"Well maybe you just need to open yourself up a bit, break down that wall of yours."

"It's not exactly easy to open yourself up after 18 years of being alone."

"Well maybe you don't have to be alone, no one has to be alone."

Emma stood up from the swing, the rain was pouring in buckets. The sounds of thunder warned her it was time to leave, and the fact that she had illegally entered an amusement park also gave her reasons.

"Look, Neal, I'd better get going, thanks for you the coffee."

The woman said quietly.

She tried to stay calm, she'd arrived in Portland only that day, the stolen car was a start to sustaining herself, but she didn't exactly have anywhere to sleep except the uncomfortable cramped backseat, which wasn't ideal. She considered quickly knocking him out and taking any money he had on hand, for she was quite desperate for resources, but she couldn't do it.

The blonde started to walk out of the park, looking back and seeing him get up from the swing and walk towards her nervously. "You know that car you stole, it was kind of mine first." He said.

Emma groaned. "Come on, I probably need it more than you."

"And what makes you think that's true?" He snapped. "Maybe the guy who just lost his job needs it."

"Well maybe the girl who took a train to Portland this morning in search of a home which she can't achieve without support needs it!" She yelled.

Neal looked right into her eyes which were filled with tears that Emma tried her best to hide. Her petite nose turned pink from the rain which dampened their clothes and froze their skin.

His hair was drenched in the rain, his eyes staring softly, and the wave of silence struck the two, and they stood opposite each other, until he broke the silence. He stepped forward quickly, lifting his hand and placing it on the blonde's rosy cheek, leaning in and placing his lips on hers. Kissing her softly and intimately she wrapped her hands around his neck, kissing him back, not a moment of resistance, under the sparkling moonlight and the icy cold rain.


	2. Two

Quickly pulling away from the kiss, her mind stormed with anger. She'd done exactly what she didn't want to do, she kissed a stranger, this was probably what he wanted anyways. Why else would this man kiss her anyways? Whatever he wanted from her, she wasn't going to give it to him.  
He looked shocked as she angrily stared at him, the rain dripping down his face.

And somehow his innocence struck her, that pale face, his breath visible is the cold, and his eyes slowly shattering in the irises.  
"What the hell was that." She said breathing heavily.  
He shrugged. "Just a risk. A risk that seemed to be successful."  
"Excuse me?" She shouted. "You think I actually enjoyed a man I just met kissing me in an abandoned amusement park in the pouring rain?"  
"Sounds like quite the romance novel doesn't it."  
Emma glared at him, whatever game he was trying to play, she couldn't figure it out. The kiss meant nothing to her, and yes she didn't pull away immediately, but she told herself she was caught up in the moment and got distracted.

"You know what, I'm leaving." She sighed. "And I'm taking my car with me."  
"Oh come on, you think that's fair? You practically stole that car from me."  
"And you stole it from a dark Portland alleyway, either way the car doesn't belong to either of us, but I need it more."  
Neal shrugged. "At least give me a ride home." He suggested. "It's not too far from here anyways, and you can make it up to me for keeping my car."

She found herself driving through the busy streets, the lights were so bright, the yells of the drunks out late and the cars zipping by were all to be heard. He sat in the seat beside her, gesturing directions to this so called home of his.  
And when she parked outside the house, her jaw dropped, it was enormous, the thing looked like the damn White House.

"And you live here, and you argued about needing a car."  
"I don't live here." He smiled as he quickly emerged from the vehicle and began walking up to the door.  
She rolled her eyes and climbed out of the door, slamming the door shut.  
"What the hell are you doing here then."  
"Just need a little money now and then, these people are filthy rich, luckily they're on vacation on some exotic island."  
"And so you're going to steal money."  
"Robbing an empty house in the middle of the night is child's play, let the more experienced thief do the job."

She followed him down the side of the house to the back door, which he pried open with ease with a crowbar.  
"Alright, listen." He explained. "I'll be back soon, what I need you to do is wait outside, if anything happens, just uh, kick the door or something, just do it casually."  
She sighed and stood outside as he walked in and quickly hit the alarm with a rock.

The house was glorious, he gazed at the luxury and the class, it was all so overwhelming for someone like him. He stepped in the direction of the kitchen, which was modern and shone even in the darkest light. He looked around, deciding where some sort of money stash would be hidden. The dishes were washed and stacked, luckily dry, he assumed their maid of some sort had visited earlier. But why would a maid need to wash dishes, when his eyes glanced a dish washer.

He grinned, and walked over to it, opening the machine's door and finding no machine, but a large safe. As he began to hack the code he heard the loud sound of a kick on the door.

All seemed well for Emma until she heard a car park into the driveway, with the engine soon sounding off. The voices of two people could be heard, sounding stressed, but sort of a toned down argument, which made her believe they were a couple.  
She froze, but her immediate instinct was to kick the door loudly, so that Neal could hear it.

She had to think fast, and so she collapsed to the floor, to buy time. The couple's arguments were soon pitch silent when they noticed her.  
"Oh my god." Said the woman as she dropped her suitcase and rushed over to Emma. "What happened dear?" She said worried.

"I was just at this party." Emma lied, breathing heavily. "A little too many drinks and, I suppose my friends thought it would be funny to leave me here."  
"Well, I think it's best that you get yourself home, do you need a lift? Is that car parked outside yours?" Asked the man.  
"My friend Jennifer's car." Emma grunted. "I bet she just wanted to watch it unfold, I'm so sorry I've disturbed you, I'll be on my way."

The man continued to walk over to the door and unlock it, however the alarm didn't go off.  
"Honey," he sighed, "You forgot to set the alarm when we left for the airport didn't you."  
She looked stunned. "Um, no, I definitely set it."  
"Well you obviously didn't."

Emma left the two to bicker as she steadily walked away, still trying to look some tipsy teenager. Once she was out of view of the couple, she ran towards the yellow bug, climbing into the driver's seat, no one sat beside her.

She panicked, what if Neal was still in there? Her whole body shook, she wondered if it would be safest to drive off or just try to stall the couple again.  
"Neal, where the hell are you." She whispered.  
"What sorry?" Came a voice from behind her. She turned around, and sure enough, there was Neal Cassidy, poking his head up from the boot of the car.  
"Just been counting the money I took, heard your entire alibi from the other side of the door, genius, being drunk and all. Then once they helped you up I just opened a window from the inside and rushed out back to the car."  
"But why go in the back of the car?" Emma sighed.  
"Just in case they came to inspect the car, call it our secret hiding spot."

"So how much did you take?" She asked eagerly.  
"I've counted $7000 so far, could be more."  
Emma's jaw dropped. "They just casually had that kind of money lying around?"  
"I told you, they're filthy rich, this was nothing compared to the stash they had in that safe." Neal assured her.

"That should be enough to sustain for a while." Emma smiled.  
"Yeah, like stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, us being the poor in this situation."  
"What like Robin Hood." Emma laughed. "You stole something, I mean it's illegal, but it's for a good cause."

She gazed into his welcoming eyes, his mouth still smiling, fresh from a laugh. She couldn't tell why she couldn't stop looking at him, whether it was the irises that seemed to flicker different colours, or the defined lips that finished off his perfectly structured face.

Her cheeks went rosy as he continued to talk to her, planning what to spend the money on, but then the subject changed as she begun starting the engine. He climbed into the passenger's seat as she began driving as far away from the house as possible.

"So I told you my story." Neal smiled. "How about yours."  
Emma sighed. "Flashback to nearly 20 years ago, baby me was found on the side of a freeway, wrapped in my baby blanket, my name sewn into it."  
"So your parents couldn't be bothered to drive you to a hospital, but they knitted you a custom blanket." Neal said puzzled.  
"Doesn't make much sense does it." Emma shrugged as she continued to drive. "Then I went in and out of the foster system, lived with lots of families, and they all sent me back. Most of the families had kids of their own too, you see, how could they ever love someone like me, over someone who was a product of their love."

As Emma continued to tell him about her troubled past, Neal's face grew increasingly sadder. And she finished just as they parked in a restaurant car park, and Neal's heart broke as he realized Emma's story didn't end happily so far.

"After I kissed you in that park," Neal began. "You looked ecstatic, but how quickly your emotion changed shocked me, and now I know why. You keep your heart in your chest."  
Emma stared at him. "Of course I do, we all do."  
"Well theoretically yes, but humans have this thing where they keep their hearts somewhere, and you can tell. Some keep their heart in their hands, where they can openly distribute love amongst people. But you Emma, keep yours deep in your chest, guarded heavily, and you won't let anyone take it out."

"And what if I let someone." She said quietly as she placed his hand on her heart. She gazed into his eyes, this time she leant in, kissing his lips once again, feeling her emotions scatter out of her chest and throughout her body, and this time the kiss meant so much more.


	3. Three

Seconds, and then minutes went by, and it wasn't until a while later that the two finally pulled away from each other. He gazed into her eyes, which glimmered in the moonlight, her smile glittered white, and her gorgeous blonde hair flowed down her shoulders.

Emma quickly began laughing as she noticed the red lipstick smothered all over Neal's face.

"What?" He laughed. She directed him to the car mirror, where his eyes locked with the glass. He chuckled and smeared the cheap makeup off his face.

"We need to get you some better lipstick." He laughed.

"Well, now we can." She smiled pointing at his money filled pocket.

"Come on." He continued. "I want to show you why I brought you to this restaurant."

His hand extended out towards her, and she gracefully took it as he lead them towards the door. It was late, nearly midnight, and she could hardly believe this fancy place was still open, and yet it was.

"It's midnight Neal." She shrugged as he began to open the glass door. "I'm not exactly starving."

"You don't need to be hungry, you just need to be thirsty."

He welcomed her in, and the gigantic bar was revealed to Emma's eyes, it was beautiful, even if it was full of drunks on a late night.

She followed him to two barstools that perfectly stood side by side, they were the fanciest seats Emma had ever seen, cushioned in soft red fabric, her back supported by the pillow like backing.

A man came to their assistance, tall and handsome with chocolate coloured skin and a red vest covering his white shirt. His tie hung down as he leant over to take their order.

"I'll have that thing." Emma said pointing at a picture on the menu, it was some kind of expensive fruity cocktail. She didn't know what it was, but her eyes couldn't glance away from it.

"And some onion rings please." Emma continued.

"No fries?" Neal asked.

"Nope." Emma smiled.

Soon their order arrived, Neal's tall glass of beer and his serving of thin fries accompanied Emma's cocktail and onion rings.

She quickly took one of the fries and dipped it in Neal's ketchup and began eating it.

"I thought you didn't like fries," he laughed.

"Of course I do, I just like onion rings better, and if I want any fries I can just steal some of yours."

"So I can have an onion ring in return?"

"Nope." She laughed.

Silence separated the two of them, and Emma couldn't tell if it was nearly awkwardness, or the fact that they both couldn't stop eating their food.

"So what happens next." Neal sighed, as Emma swallowed the last of her food and cleaned her mouth with a napkin.

"I don't know." She shrugged.

"Maybe we just split the money and go our separate ways." Neal said.

"But, what if I don't want to..." she interrupted.

A long pause struck as their heartbeats increased and their eyes watered with held back tears.

"I don't want to either." Neal admitted. "I just wasn't sure if you wanted to stay with me."

"Those walls I have, the ones you talked about, you're kind of right, I guess it's just how I've grown up. I don't know what it was, fate, love, desire, but somehow you knocked them down, and I don't want to build them up ever again." Emma began.

He placed his hands on her rosy cheeks, and she could feel the icy coldness of the beer he'd just been holding. He gently kissed her forehead and smiled at her.

"It's just me and you, us against the world." Neal smiled.

She grinned uncontrollably, for her mind couldn't yet accept the fact that she now had someone who loved her, who could support her through everything. Maybe she wasn't alone, maybe she'd never be again.

Neal signaled the waiter to bring the bill, and as it arrived Emma stared at the cost, which seemed quite pricy for a pub. But luckily that supply of cash Neal stole was hardly dug into to pay for the meal.

She toke the small mint that was placed with the bill and placed it into her mouth, as Neal did the same.

"Tastes like toothpaste." Neal said.

"Shhh!" Emma laughed.

"Guess I won't have to brush my teeth tonight."

Neal placed the money along with two spat out mints and a tip on the tray as they left the restaurant, returning to the bright yellow car and fastening their seatbelts.

"Want to play a game? It's who can find a motel that's open this kind of night so we can actually sleep. I'm exhausted." Neal yawned. He started the engine as they drove through the Portland streets, until Emma pointed to a lit up sign that had missing letters, directing them to a large motel which looked good enough to stay the night.

Neal parked the car outside and quickly checked in, soon returning out with the key to room 158.

They quickly discovered it, and once unlocked, a surprisingly luxurious room awaited and Emma immediately jumped onto the fluffy white mattress, showing extreme comfort. Neal lay down beside her, gleaming a smile which took the attention away from his tired, stressed eyes.

She pulled him close and kissed his soft lips, her mind set on the journey towards a new home, which Neal Cassidy now lead.


	4. Four

She awoke beside a man she'd only met the day before. Her eyes opened to find his face opposing hers, lying on a soft white pillow, his eyes shut tight. And when his eyelids finally fluttered open, the first thing he saw was the blonde's beautiful smile, as his eyes locked with hers.

"Sleep okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I actually did." He smiled. "Wait, what's the time?"

She glanced at the bedside clock, "It's 11:30." She said.

"We missed the breakfast menu at the motel." He groaned.

Emma giggled, playfully punching his arm. "Breakfast may be important, but we can just get lunch instead."

She climbed out of the bed, exposing her eyes to the sunlight that shone through the window.

"Wait." She sighed. "My suitcase, I forgot to get it last night, kept it at this hotel downtown."

"And why do that?" He asked.

"It was expensive, but I didn't want it getting in the way."

He pulled a blue suitcase up from under the bed and handed it to her. "Couldn't sleep last night, went to the hotel to pick it up, you're welcome."

She grinned and took it, opening it to find all her items still there.

"And they believed your name was Emma Swan?" She laughed.

"Looks like you didn't pick a high security hotel." He said cheekily.

She pulled out what she needed, just a simple red floral dress, with some boots she'd picked up from a thrift store. She quickly got changed into the outfit as Neal put on a red flannel shirt, and a pair of black jeans, and he tied his sneakers and styled his hair.

Emma quickly tied her hair out of the way into a ponytail, and cleaned her glasses to ensure a clear fresh view. Neal approached the door and held it open for her as they exited and discovered a beautiful sunny day, which would likely soon be ruined by rain. Quickly locking the door, Neal lead Emma to the motel's restaurant.

A brunette woman greeted them as they entered the room, and she ushered them to a two seated table, away from all the families and their young children.

"Here are the menus, your complementary breadsticks, and don't order the fish cause that didn't end well for the last person who did." Said the waitress.

Emma and Neal looked puzzled as they just silently nodded. The woman smiled and left them to choose.

"What are you in the mood for?" Asked Emma as they gazed at their menus.

"Not the fish." Said Neal.

Soon when the large portioned plates of food arrived, they quickly went right for the food. Emma took a large bite of her grilled sandwich like she hadn't eaten in days. Neal twirled his spaghetti around a fork and ate it too.

"You know, the money from the house isn't going to support us forever." Neal said.

"Then we just steal more. But not from the same house, they'd notice if a large amount kept disappearing and we got caught. We need to be strategic." Emma whispered.

"So what, we plan our next move? Maybe we both need to get jobs, like secret identity type things." Neal suggested.

"I mean, sounds good, it'll bring in a bit more money, and plus what better way to get money than to sneak some from the cash register you work behind?" Emma said quietly.

They finished their meals and planned their next move, they both went their separate ways into the Portland streets to find places to work.

Emma spotted a sandwich shop asking for employees, and so she entered with a confident smile and politely asked the woman at the counter if she could have an interview.

"Can I have your name please." Asked the woman emotionless.

"Jennifer James." She lied, it would be best to use a cover name, just in case. The woman led her to a room behind the counter, which looked a pathetic attempt at an office, but it was just full of boxes of lunch meat and bread. This place wasn't exactly high standard anyways, it would likely be easy to get the job.

"Now, here is Sammy's Sandwiches we do have quite the standard for employees." Said the woman boldly. "Any work experience?"

"I worked at my local McDonalds for two days." Emma shrugged.

"That's good enough for me." Sighed the woman. "You'll be working the register." She pulled a hat from behind her and handed it to Emma. She proudly put the Sammy's Sandwiches hat on her head as she got ready to plan her next move.

Down on the other side of the street, Neal entered a dollar store, which was looking for someone to employ. He entered with a welcoming grin and greeted the man behind the register.

"Hello there, I'm Michael Morrison, and I would like a job here!" He lied. He quickly chatted about his previous experiences as a janitor which made the man give him a job as a cleaner.

Of course this meant it wouldn't be as easy to get to the cash, but Neal assured himself that if the cleaner stayed late hours, he could take the cash while no one awaited.

As Emma tied her apron on, and Neal entered the janitor's closet, the two prepared themselves to bring back enough money to sustain for a while, they just had to find a clever way to get away with it.


End file.
